What is the toughest major team sport in the world in terms of physical punishment?

My honest opinion about pads and helmets in the NFL is that they're a false sense of security and if the game were played without them, overall the players would conduct themselves more safely as far as targeting, illegal hits, etc.

Neck up NFL takes a bigger toll, neck down rugby takes a bigger toll.


Jmho

Originally posted by monaroCountry:



No other team sport comes close the physical punishment of Rugby. The schedule is grueling, its explosive, need cardio, need mental toughness, and just pure brute animal. Hockey and NFL players would literally be killed in either forms of rugby especially at NRL level. Really just the best freak athletes from around the world.

Good post
Brought back memories

American football and hockey are the most physically punishing. I understand the Rugby argument; however if you hit someone in rugby like you do in football, it's a foul.


Rugby is a tough sport, but unless these guys plan on wearing plastic armor and turning themselves into human missiles, it is never going to be as punishing.

Is rugby more difficult from a cardio standpoint? Sure, but so are triathlons.

Originally posted by Geeked:





Is rugby more difficult from a cardio standpoint? Sure, but so are triathlons.

No collisions unless they fall off bike
Dont get me wrong
Chess is tough ..if thats your thing

I'd say NFL almost entirely because of the helmet.
1 - The helmet is used as a weapon
2 - The helmet restricts peripheral vision which means more blind sides.

Another issue is the lack of endurance required means players put explosive energy into any hit they can. However there is far less live play time in the NFL so the body is subjected to less less knocks and twists overall than say league or union. So I'd say at the end of a typical GAME any given rugby/union player is more likely to be quite sore but at the end of the SEASON a given NFL player is more likely to be literally broken.

Watch a rugby league clip from the 80's and you might change your mind however. Sooo many cheap shots in a game that go unpunished.

Also people stating that the only hard hits in rugby league/union illegal are missing the point (and incorrect). That is part of the game, just like in hockey.

Only 140 votes after 4 years.....wow

I have check this rugby thing out but where do I begin?

Jarryd Hayne is probably the only one that can answer this question,he has played against the best of the best in Rugby League and the NFL,im sure someone will ask him which sport was tougher when he retires.

NFL used to be tough. Now it's soft as f**k.

Rugby, Aussie Rules, Lacrosse, Soccer toughness > NFL toughness

Originally posted by judodono:

NFL used to be tough. Now it's soft as f**k.

Rugby, Aussie Rules, Lacrosse, Soccer toughness > NFL toughness

A $500,000,000.00 lawsuit will do that to a sport.

Originally posted by BarrySandwich:
Jarryd Hayne is probably the only one that can answer this question,he has played against the best of the best in Rugby League and the NFL,im sure someone will ask him which sport was tougher when he retires.

He is still standing when all the others has gone on IR, shows you that those league guys are tougher. After all turning yourself into a missile or getting hit with a missile as they do in league without the protection of helmets and padding is much harder. We have seen Hayne get a similar belting when receiving the ball in American Football and we all saw the outcome of Hayne dusting himself off like it was nothing (due to the helmet and padding).

NRL

Lol helmets.

Originally posted by YeahNahhButHey:
I'd say at the end of a typical GAME any given rugby/union player is more likely to be quite sore but at the end of the SEASON a given NFL player is more likely to be literally broken.

NRL players bodies are better conditioned to high impact due to more tackles, more hits, more games, and more rigorous training. NFL players are quite fragile compared to NRL players because they go through less impacts. The difference can be seen in body shapes. Look at the shape of Jarryd compared to the other RB/PR/KR, Jarryd looks stockier whereas his team mates look like they spend more time doing weights than they do on the field smashing each other to the turf.

Originally posted by PrisonOfGlass:
Lol helmets.

Lol helmets indeed. See a proper monster knockout below.

Originally posted by FAS33:
Play Rugby Union here in Oz but Rugby League is 100 times tougher on the body then Rugby. On Average make 4 tackles a game and 3 hit ups in Union as a back. A Grade League is brutal too. Union is a fair distance behind when it comes physicality compared with League. NRL and Super League players are the most underpayed sports athletes in the world.

While the big hits in league might not be quite as frequent as NFL you are talking no pads, probably 10 times the number of hits per game and a regular season that is almost twice the length.
It is rare for a player to play every game in a season simply because it is almost impossible to get through a season without injury.